Matt. 24:14

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

Jesus pointed to the fact that the gospel will be preached to the whole world as a testimony to all nations. Along with other verses, this one is an indicator that points to the time of His coming at the end of the age. World evangelization surely is the bedrock purpose for which the Lord and His Church are working before He returns. If there was ever a truth to which all mankind will one day be exposed, it is the gospel of the kingdom. Can there possibly be a cause more worthy of our lives?

Pray that the Savior will show us as individuals and as bodies of believers how to participate with Him in the central plan and purpose of history.

Dargin People

Juri joined his father, Sergei, on his annual pilgrimage to the tomb of a Muslim saint. They live in a village high in the North Caucasus Mountains in the republic of Dagestan, Russia. The two cross many streams and rivers as they descend from 3000 meters to the Caspian Sea. Like his neighbors, Sergei grows barley and maize on a small plot with primitive tools. But as they descend from the alpine climate, Juri sees changes. The people are still Dargins, but the farms grow larger, the weather milder, the crops change to wheat, and the farmers have metal plows.

Sergei explains to his son that the “heretical” teaching of Christianity came to their Dargin people before Mohammad was born. “But when Islam came,” he adds with pride, “our leaders recognized its truth, and the rest of our people followed their lead. Now we proudly defend Islam against all heretics.”

In the capital city, Makhachlala, Juri sees many buildings that are in poor repair. Old buses and trucks belch out black smoke as they bounce over pot-holed and cracked roads. But in some areas he sees new buildings. “Those are new mosques,” Sergei explains. “After the atheist communists lost power, we were able to practice Islam openly once more. Now our people are building new mosques as fast as we can.”

Pray that believers in Russia would reach out to their Muslim Dargin neighbors as Christ’s ambassadors. Pray that God would reveal himself to the community leaders so the Dargin people would follow them to the Truth.-EF